Hanging chair stand

ABSTRACT

A stand for a hanging item, such as a hanging chair, includes a base leg extending in a substantially two dimensional pattern defining an interior space. A support arm is secured to an end of the base leg and extends upwardly from the base leg with an end portion extending over the interior space defined by the base leg and terminating in a support end positioned over the interior space to suspend the item to be hung over the interior space. The stand may be conveniently formed from a plurality of component pieces, at least one end of each component piece being secured to an abutting end of another component piece to assemble the stand. Respective abutting ends may be scalloped to mate together in a limited number of orientations with respect to one another to aid assembly. Curved scallops can make the connections between pieces harder to see.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/714,280, filed Sep. 6, 2005, and entitled “Hanging Chair Stand.”

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field

The invention is in the field of stands or hangers for hanging items such as chairs, particularly hammock type chairs, which are suspended or hung from a hook above the chair.

2. State of the Art

Chairs are currently available, generally referred to as hammock chairs, which are hanging chairs suspended by ropes from an overhead hook. A common embodiment of hammock chairs have a cross bar, two side bars, and a sling of canvas or similar material in which the user sits. The cross bar, which has ropes extending from its ends to the hook, spreads the sling to create the width for the chair, and the side bars, which have ropes at their ends extending to the cross bar, create a front to back depth for the sling and chair. When used under a roof or ceiling, the hook is installed in the roof or ceiling to suspend the chair. When outside, the chair can be suspended or hung from a tree branch from either a hook attached to the tree branch or by tying the ropes from the chair around the tree branch. When hung from a hook, the chair is free to swing to some extent. Because these chairs have to be suspended from a hook or other support above the chair, use of such chairs has been limited to locations under a roof or ceiling or tree where the overhead support is available.

To increase the places where such chairs can be used, C-stands have been developed to support such chairs. A C-stand has an arm that extends in a “C” shape from the bottom of the arm which forms a central base with supporting legs extending outwardly and downwardly therefrom which rest on a supporting surface, such as a floor or the ground, to an upper end with a hook, usually about eight feet above the supporting surface. The upper end receives the ropes from the chair and suspends the chair above the central base end of the supporting arm. The upper end is generally located directly above the central base end for stability. Since the chair can swing, each supporting leg has to extend outwardly from the central base about three feet to prevent tipping of the base and chair. There are usually either three or four legs extending outwardly from the base arranged at equal angles from one another, one hundred twenty degrees when using three legs and ninety degrees when using four legs. This means that the base for the C-stand extends about six feet out from the central base. The central base end of the C-shaped arm also generally is supported upwardly from the supporting surface, meaning that the upper end of the C shaped arm has to extend high enough so the chair, which is positioned directly above the base, is supported above the base.

U.S. Design Pat. No. Des. 249,408 shows a variation of a C-stand with two angled, substantially C-shaped support arms extending from the center of a decorative flat supporting base with supporting legs extending outwardly from the base center where the supporting legs are attached. The top of the C-shaped supports come together and support the chair above the center of the base.

U.S. Design Pat. No. Des. 230,109 shows a stand similar to a C-stand where the support arm forms a rear leg for the base and extends upwardly from contact with the supporting surface. Two supporting base legs extend at angles forwardly from the bottom of the support arm. The top of the support arm is positioned between the two supporting base legs toward the forward ends of the supporting base legs to support a hanging chair or other item.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,344,443 shows a chair stand with two similarly shaped C supports joined together at their upper ends from which a chair is hung and which separate as the supports extend downwardly with the lower ends of the supports spaced apart and joined by a connecting bar that rests on a supporting surface to support the front of the stand. A rear cross bar extends downwardly from the intermediate portions of the C supports to support the stand at is rear.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,040,995 shows various chair stands with two or more similarly shaped attached supports which provide two separated hooks for hanging a two point hanging chair, i.e., a chair that rather than being suspended from a single overhead hook, is suspended from two separated overhead hooks.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A stand for a hanging item, such as a hanging chair, includes a base leg for resting on a support surface, such as a floor or the ground, the base leg extending in a pattern, such as two sides of a triangle, an arc of about 180°, or three sides of a rectangle, to define an interior space within the pattern, and a support arm secured to one end of the base leg and extending upwardly therefrom to a support end portion with a support end at a height above the base leg sufficient to suspend an item to be suspported above the base leg and supporting surface. The support end portion, terminating in a support end, extends over the interior space defined by the base leg with the support end portion positioned over such interior space whereby the item to be supported is suspended in a centralized location so that the stand remains stable on the supporting surface when the supported item is suspended from the stand.

In one embodiment of the stand of the invention, the base leg portion of the stand has opposite ends and extends in a substantially two dimensional pattern defining an open interior space. The support arm is secured to one of the opposite ends of the base leg portion, forming a continuation of the base leg portion extending upwardly from the base leg portion and having a support arm end portion terminating in a support portion end. The support arm end portion extends over the interior space defined by the base leg to suspend an item to be hung over the interior space. The stand may be formed as a continuous bar having a base leg portion adapted to be placed on a supporting surface and extending from an end of the bar in a pattern to define an interior space, and a support arm portion extending upwardly from the base leg portion to terminate in a support end of the bar, whereby an item to be hung is suspended from the support end portion of the bar over the interior space defined by the base leg portion.

The stand of the invention can be made in pieces for shipping and storage and be assembled and disassembled by a user. The ends of the pieces may be joined in a telescoping manner using an insert with mating end being scalloped to help align and hold the pieces in a fixed angular relationship. The scalloped ends can also help to disguise the joints between individual joined pieces. Even though the stand may be made up of individual pieces, for purposes of the invention, when assembled, the assembled individual pieces of the stand may be considered to form one continuous bar from end to end.

THE DRAWINGS

In the accompanying drawings, which show the best mode currently contemplated for carrying out the invention:

FIG. 1 is a front right side perspective view of a stand of the invention showing a hanging chair suspended from the support member;

FIG. 2, a front elevation of the stand without a chair;

FIG. 3, a top plan view of the stand of FIGS. 1 and 2 without a chair;

FIG. 4, a right side elevation of the stand;

FIG. 5, an enlarged fragmentary top plan view of the portion of the stand encircled by the line 5-5 of FIG. 3, showing a typical connection of two segments of the stand;

FIG. 6, a view similar to that of FIG. 5, but rotated around the connection ninety degrees, and with relation specifically to FIG. 5, taken from the bottom of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7, a vertical section taken along the line 7-7 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 8, a vertical section taken along the line 8-8 of FIG. 3 showing a stand foot;

FIG. 9, an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of the top portion of the stand encircled by the line 9-9 of FIG. 1, showing a typical connection of a hanging chair to the top portion of the stand; and

FIG. 10, a perspective exploded view of the stand of the invention showing how the stand can be broken down into pieces and how the pieces are assembled, each of the pieces being broken along their length to shorten them for purposes of illustration.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENT

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 9, a common style of hammock chair 20, FIG. 1, is suspended by ropes 21 tied to an S hook 22, which is hung through an eye 23 at the support end 24 of a supporting stand. The height of chair 20 above the ground is adjusted by changing where along their lengths the ropes 21 are tied to S hook 22. Tying ropes 21 to S hook 22 and using S hook 22 to hang the chair from an overhead support is the usual manner of hanging such hammock chairs.

The stand of the invention includes a base leg 25 that rests on a supporting surface such as a floor or the ground. The base leg extends in a two dimensional pattern to form an open interior area or space. In the embodiment shown, see particularly FIGS. 1 and 3, the base leg 25 forms an equilateral triangular pattern with base leg portions 26 and 27 forming two equal sides of the equilateral triangle. The two sides 26 and 27 of the triangle define an open interior area 28 between the triangle sides 26 and 27. If desired, a third leg portion could be provided to extend between the ends of sides 26 and 27 to close the triangle, i.e., to close the interior area or space, or to extend partially toward one end to still leave an open enclosed area, but such a third leg is not necessary. The base leg 25, as shown, is a continuous leg with the two leg portions 26 and 27 and with two opposite ends 30 and 31. While in the present embodiment the base leg is shown forming two sides of a triangle, various other shapes may be used such as an arc of at least about 180°, three or four sides of a rectangle, at least half the total number of sides of other polygonal shapes, or other angular or curved shapes which define either an open or closed interior area within the shape or pattern. The particular triangular shape shown in the drawings is merely a decorative choice between various shapes that could be used and provides a distinctive appearance to the stand.

In the embodiment shown, the base leg 25 includes feet 32 which actually contact the supporting surface, such as a floor. The feet may or may not be used, and when used, provide both a decorative look and serve to protect the supporting floor if the base leg is slid across the floor. The feet are made of appropriate material for their purpose such as a relatively soft material, such as plastic or rubber, for protective use, and decorative material, such as wood, for decorative use.

Attached to one end of the base leg, here end 31, is a support arm 35 with a first portion 36 which angles upwardly and rearwardly from base leg end 31 and a second portion 37 which extends upwardly and inwardly with an end portion 38 which extends over the interior space 28 to provide a support end 24 of the support arm 35 which is positioned over the interior space and in a central portion of the interior space so that the stand will support an item suspended from the support end of the support arm without tipping over. The end of the support arm includes a receiver for receiving the suspension point or suspension connection of a hanging item, such as a hanging chair, to suspend such item. The receiver may be a hook, an eye, or, as shown, particularly in FIG. 6, an eye or hole 23 in a plate 40 secured, such as by welding, to the support end 24 of support arm 35. S-hook 22 is suspended through hole 23 to suspend hanging chair 20 from the support end 24 of support arm 35. The position of the receiver, which suspends the item to be supported, is preferably positioned at about the center or centroid of the interior area defined by the base leg. Thus, in the embodiment shown, see particularly FIGS. 1 and 3, support end 24 of support arm 35 is positioned over the centroid of the triangular interior area. The particular shape of the support arm is not critical as long as the support arm positions the support end where the supported item is suspended over the center portion of the interior area defined by the base leg so that the stand will be stable in supporting the item. The particular shape of the support arm shown is merely decorative to provide a distinctive appearance to the stand. While plate 40 which forms the receiver in the illustrated embodiment is secured to the actual end of the support end 24, the receiver can be formed in (such as a receiving hole in) or secured to (such as an eye or a hook extending from) support end 24 or end portion 38 anywhere inwardly along support end 24 or end portion 3 8 which positions the chair or other item to be hung over the interior area defined by the leg portion in a manner which stabilizes the stand.

The size and shape of the pattern or area 28 formed by the base leg is such as to provide a stable base to support the item to be supported. For supporting a hanging chair that will allow some swing, an equilateral triangular shape having sides about five feet in length has been found satisfactory. This gives a depth to the shape formed by the base leg (distance from open front to the rear triangle apex) of about fifty six inches and a width across the open front of about sixty two inches. The overall height of the support arm is about seventy seven inches with the hole in the plate at the support end of the support arm about seventy three inches above the supporting surface on which the stand rests.

While the stand could be formed as a single piece, it is preferred for purposes of shipping, transportation, and storage that the stand be made up of several pieces so it can be disassembled into several smaller pieces. FIG. 10 shows, for the stand of the illustrated embodiment, individual pieces or components of the stand and how they are assembled together to form a stand. The base leg 25 is broken down into two pieces 50 and 51. (Note that in FIG. 10, for ease of illustration so that the entire stand can be shown in one Fig., the individual pieces are also broken into and shown as two pieces with intermediate lengths of each piece removed.) Pieces 50 and 51 are tubular and piece 50 includes an insert 52 secured in the end of piece 50 in any suitable manner and extending from the end thereof to be connected to piece 51. Piece 51 is slid over insert 52 and secured by screws 53 extending through holes 54 in piece 51 and tightened into threaded holes 55 in insert 52. Similar holes and screws are provided in the opposite side of the piece and insert so that screws are inserted in opposite sides as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. Rather than using an insert so that abutting pieces telescope together, an end can be formed to telescope into the end of the abutting piece by crimping or swaging the end of one abutting piece to form a reduced diameter portion to telescope into the abutting end of the other piece. Base leg piece 51 forms part of the support arm, indicated at 57. Support arm intermediate piece 58 has inserts 59 and 60. Insert 59 is slipped into piece 51 at the end of portion 57 and the pieces are secured together by screws 53 extending through holes 61 and tightened into threaded holes 62 in insert 59. Upper support arm piece 64 slides onto insert 60 and is secured by screws 53 extending through holes 65 and tightened into threaded holes 66 in insert 60. Screws 53 are counter sunk so that screws 53 extending into counter sunk holes 54, 61, and 65 provide a smooth surface for the base leg and support arm. In addition, the ends of pieces 50, 51, 58, and 64, where they come together when joined, are scalloped, as shown particularly in FIGS. 10, 2, 3, and 4, which disguise the joints and makes them more difficult to see. When assembled, it is difficult to see that the stand is assembled of parts. The stand appears as a single continuous piece which adds to the aesthetics of the device to make it look nice as a piece of furniture in a room. Wood feet also add to the decorative look of the stand. For purposes of the invention, although assembled of several pieces, once assembled, the stand becomes a continuous bar or single continuous piece stand. The continuous bar or piece extends from leg portion end 30 to the end of support portion end 24.

In addition to the aesthetic appearance of the scalloped connections, the scallops make it easy for a user assembling the stand to properly position and angularly align the pieces with respect to one another and to align the receiving holes for the screws extending through the individual pieces with the mating holes in the sleeves. Thus, for example, when connecting upper support arm piece 64 to support arm intermediate piece 58, FIG. 10, as the pieces are brought together over sleeve 60, the scallop projections 70 on upper support arm piece 64 will easily move to and fit into inward scallops 71 between scallop projections 72 on support arm intermediate piece 58. Similarly, scallop projections 72 on support arm intermediate piece 58 will easily move to and fit into inward scallops 73 between scallop projections 70 on upper support arm piece 64. In this way, when the pieces are aligned using the scallops, the pieces will remain aligned as long as the pieces are held together so that the connecting screws can be easily inserted and secured in the mating holes in the pieces and the inserts. The user does not have to hold the pieces to be connected in angular alignment with the holes in one piece aligned with the holes in the insert in the other piece in order to be able to insert the screws through aligned holes. In addition to helping with alignment of the pieces during assembly, the mating scallops will also help to prevent relative rotation of the pieces during use of the stand and reduce the pressure on the screws securing the pieces together. The curved scallop configuration illustrated is currently preferred for aesthetic reasons and is not functionally necessary as angular tabs or scallops, such as rectangular scallops, could be used and might provide better resistance to rotation than the curved scallops.

The stand of the invention provides a flat base which is more aesthetic than the raised base of the C stand and makes it easier to mount a hanging chair without the chair hitting the raised C arm base of a C stand. Further, the parts of the disassembled stand of the invention take up less storage room and fit into a smaller box for storage and shipping. The base of the stand is also smaller than the base of a C stand so takes up less room. This is advantageous for indoor use. While the pattern formed by the leg portion of the stand will generally be a two dimensional pattern as shown, in some instances the pattern may be formed in three dimensions. For example, feet may be bent into the legs or otherwise formed by the leg pattern itself rather than being separately attached pieces as shown. In such instances, the pattern will be considered as substantially two dimensional.

Whereas the invention is here illustrated and described with reference to an embodiment thereof presently contemplated as the best mode of carrying out the invention in actual practice, it is to be understood that various changes may be made in adapting the invention to different embodiments without departing from the broader inventive concepts disclosed herein and comprehended by the claims that follow. 

1. A stand for a hanging item, such as a hanging chair, comprising: a base leg extending in a two dimensional pattern defining an interior space; a support arm secured to the base leg and extending upwardly from the base leg and having a support arm end portion extending over the interior space defined by the base leg to suspend the item to be hung over the interior space.
 2. A stand for a hanging item according to claim 1, wherein the base leg defines an open interior space.
 3. A stand for a hanging item according to claim 1, wherein the support arm end portion includes means for suspending the item to be hung over a central portion of the interior space.
 4. A stand for a hanging item according to claim 3, wherein the support arm end portion includes means for suspending the item to be hung over the centroid of the interior space.
 5. A stand for a hanging item according to claim 4, wherein the hanging item is a hanging chair, and additionally including a hanging chair suspended from the support arm end portion over the centroid of the interior space.
 6. A stand for a hanging item according to claim 1, wherein the support arm has a first portion that extends upwardly outside the interior space and an end portion that extends over the interior space.
 7. A stand for a hanging item according to claim 6, wherein the first portion extends upwardly and rearwardly from its connection to the base leg.
 8. A stand for a hanging item according to claim 1, additionally including feet associated with the base leg to space the base leg above the supporting surface.
 9. A stand for a hanging item according to claim 1, wherein the hanging item is a hanging chair, and additionally including a hanging chair suspended from the support arm end portion.
 10. A stand for a hanging item according to claim 1, wherein the stand is formed from a plurality of component pieces, at least one end of each component piece being secured to an abutting end of another component piece to assemble the stand.
 11. A stand for a hanging item according to claim 10, wherein the abutting ends of respective pieces are adapted to telescope one into the other.
 12. A stand for a hanging item according to claim 11, wherein one of the abutting ends has an insert extending thereform to form an end that can telescope into the other abutting end.
 13. A stand for a hanging item according to claim 12, wherein respective abutting ends are scalloped to mate together in a limited number of orientations with respect to one another.
 14. A stand for a hanging item according to claim 13, wherein the scallops are curved.
 15. A stand for a hanging item according to claim 10, wherein respective abutting ends are scalloped to mate together in a limited number of orientations with respect to one another.
 16. A stand for a hanging item, such as a hanging chair, comprising: a base leg having opposite ends and extending in a substantially two dimensional pattern defining an open interior space; a support arm secured to one of the opposite ends of the base leg and forming a continuation of the base leg extending upwardly from the base leg and having a support arm end portion terminating in a support arm end, the support arm end portion extending over the interior space defined by the base leg to suspend an item to be hung over the interior space.
 17. A stand for a hanging item, such as a hanging chair, comprising: a continuous bar having a base leg portion adapted to be placed on a supporting surface and extending from an end of the bar in a pattern to define an interior space, and a support arm portion extending upwardly from the base leg portion to terminate in a support end of the bar, whereby an item to be hung is suspended from the support end portion of the bar over the interior space defined by the base leg portion.
 18. A stand for a hanging item according to claim 17, wherein the pattern defined by the base leg portion of the bar is a substantially two dimensional pattern.
 19. A stand for a hanging item according to claim 17, wherein the continuous bar is assembled from a plurality of component pieces, at least one end of each component piece being secured to an abutting end of another component piece to assemble the stand.
 20. A stand for a hanging item according to claim 19, wherein respective abutting ends are scalloped to mate together in a limited number of orientations with respect to one another. 